^ If I could just think of an analog...some sort of service that gets paid to put cardboard boxes on your doorstep.  I mean, if the boxes are brown...maybe the delivery service could be brown, too...man, why hasn't someone thought of this concept yet?

Mail carriers don't do it with drones and probably won't anytime soon. I have 100% faith that Amazon will have auto-piloted drones long before USPS or UPS or whatever, while expensive-ss[/member] 1 day delivery for urgent mail still actually takes two days if you have it shipped on Saturday or 3 days if you have it shipped on Saturday and the following Monday is a holiday. That's so obnoxious. Every time I turn around, it's another Monday holiday that no one even celebrates in America. That crap happens to me every time I lose my debit card and need a new one. I hate the concept of 'business days.'

 

The most efficient and quick delivery will be for crap made in China that we don't even need quickly.

 

Sorry, I once again have caused a thread to go off topic.  :yap:

 

Go Kroger!

We're a lot closer to self-driving cars than you think, and drones actually probably pose less of a safety risk to human health than those, not more.  In terms of the loads drones would be able to carry, remember that they wouldn't need to be able to carry as much as a UPS delivery truck or even an average car.  A lightweight drone capable of carrying just 70 lbs (a frequent number used in the physical requirements for package delivery) would be able to do a great deal of work if it could be run cheaply enough, because it could run 24/7 (granted some grocery deliveries wouldn't quite work at 4 a.m., but some would).  But you're right, that's farther in the future.  But AmazonFresh already exists in several markets and now will be able to expand very rapidly into any market served by a Whole Foods.  In-store pickup is also obviously an area that Amazon will be able to offer very quickly using its own online platform and Whole Foods' stores (many grocery stores are already moving in this direction with their own platforms, but Amazon has a massive preexisting user base used to their platform--I don't need to learn the Giant Eagle platform or create yet another account for it).

 

I wonder how much crap kids are going to throw at them. Or thieves throwing a net over them.

We're a lot closer to self-driving cars than you think, and drones actually probably pose less of a safety risk to human health than those, not more.  In terms of the loads drones would be able to carry, remember that they wouldn't need to be able to carry as much as a UPS delivery truck or even an average car.  A lightweight drone capable of carrying just 70 lbs (a frequent number used in the physical requirements for package delivery) would be able to do a great deal of work if it could be run cheaply enough, because it could run 24/7 (granted some grocery deliveries wouldn't quite work at 4 a.m., but some would).  But you're right, that's farther in the future.  But AmazonFresh already exists in several markets and now will be able to expand very rapidly into any market served by a Whole Foods.  In-store pickup is also obviously an area that Amazon will be able to offer very quickly using its own online platform and Whole Foods' stores (many grocery stores are already moving in this direction with their own platforms, but Amazon has a massive preexisting user base used to their platform--I don't need to learn the Giant Eagle platform or create yet another account for it).

 

I wonder how much crap kids are going to throw at them. Or thieves throwing a net over them.

 

That phenomenon should recede to manageable levels once the drones start shooting back.  :evil: :shoot:

Can a mod or admin please start a new commercial drone thread and relocate these recent posts to said potential thread? At this point, I believe it's safe to say that the conversation has next to nothing to do with Kroger (unless they have been considering drones for home delivery as well - something I'm not aware of.) A large company targeting launch pad sites for drone home delivery or the idea of launch pad sites used for any potential commercial use of drones would have a very profound impact on urban planning due to strategic locations where they'd be operating brick-and-mortar stores for distribution and home delivery service. I believe this does warrant a discussion yet shouldn't clutter a thread dedicated to Kroger-specific news. Unless some lurking Kroger exec makes and account and decides to weigh in on all this high-tech stuff and explain where they come into play and how Kroger is still relevant to all this, it's just not a pertinent conversation but I do believe it's a conversation worth having, on here.

^I started a drone thread in 2014.  It's still there but nobody has posted other than me. 

What was the thread called? They need to bump it by adding these recent posts. I don't think anyone would argue that it's an extremely fascinating subject. Amazon drones making home deliveries probably are coming eventually, as outlandish as it may seem. Yet there hasn't been much thought put into their consequence.

Lawmaker Wants Antitrust Panel To Take A Closer Look At Amazon, Whole Foods Merger

 

 

U.S. Representative David Cicilline, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, sent a letter [PDF] to the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary and the chairman of the antitrust subcommittee, urging them to hold a hearing to consider whether the merger will harm consumers, workers, and small businesses.

 

He cites concerns that “the combination of Amazon’s competitive advantages in terms of size, consumer reach, and ability to absorb losses may discourage innovation and entrance into emerging markets, such as grocery and food delivery.”

 

 

https://consumerist.com/2017/07/14/lawmaker-wants-antitrust-panel-to-take-a-closer-look-at-amazon-whole-foods-merger/

Kroger stock jumps amid acquisition rumors

 

 

Kroger Co.’s stock surged Tuesday as investors weighed rumors it might be looking to get involved in a huge merger or acquisition.

 

Talk heated up once again that Cincinnati-based Kroger (NYSE: KR), the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets, might be considering linking up with Dutch supermarket operator Ahold Delhaize.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/10/03/kroger-stock-jumps-amid-acquisition-rumors.html

^ Merger rumors between Kroger and Ahold Delhaize were unsettling enough, however, among all the merger rumors surfacing lately,  this one  could prove to be the most unsettling of all.  Who could ever have predicted merger talks between Kroger and Alibaba, Amazon's biggest Asian rival?  Hold your breathe on this one for one reason: such a merger could prove to go either way for Kroger and Cincinnati. (no need to explain why I'm apprehensive)

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/01/25/kroger-reportedly-in-talks-with-major-online.html

All of these major companies are embarking on, or at least thinking about, making major changes to their business structures, often involving slimming down to the absolute bare bones, simply to compete with Amazon. It's totally unhealthy for so much of the American economy. At what point does the government come in and break up Amazon?

It's essentially a black hole that sucks the money out of the rest of the economy while paying no taxes from all the losses that it gets to carry forward.

Why exactly is this unhealthy for the American economy?  What exactly has been lost?  Consumer prices are down or at least being kept in check, new services are being offered including curbside pickup and even home delivery (Acme and Giant Eagle here in Akron both have, and Kroger has its ClickList service at least for curbside); there are high fees for home delivery now but competition both among establishment grocers and from Amazon will help bring those down.  Any putative anticompetitive loss would have to offset those gains (and of course it would have to be proven that it was due to specific anticompetitive acts by Amazon, rather than the mere fact of its existence ... merely being big is not cause for a federal breakup).

^So all the value is in things that haven't even fully developed yet. And how do we really know if prices are down or being kept in check? In my industry a lot of things are more expensive on Amazon... so much that we have to avoid Amazon when making pricing decisions or else we will wind up with way too many of the item. Wal-Mart is responsible for much downward price pressure and has been for a long time.

The future value by definition is in things that are still developing.  And if Amazon is not putting downward pressure on prices, or at least no more than Wal-Mart is, then what exactly is edale referencing when he talks about other businesses cutting to the bare bone to compete with Amazon?  What's so special about Amazon, as opposed to Wal-Mart or even Kroger itself?

I read something before that the "Amazon Effect" is really the "Free shipping" that everybody loves.  The problem is people are too ignorant to compare (cost + SH) vs. (Cost and free shipping), and seeing that is is essentially the same or maybe even more on Amazon. 

 

We are coming out with a retail product in pet food and seeing this ourselves on price comparisons.  So for instance, we could sell only at 39.99 + SH retail on our website, but Amazon would sell at 46 plus free shipping.  They scaled so freaking huge so fast that they can ship from local warehouses to sell at a low shipping rate which a small company couldn't, like ourselves, but people don't read into the details and just say, "oh free shipping" or like I see on facebook all over, "I hate that they charge shipping!".  Shipping is such a huge cut into the margin for companies, often times when giving away free product for market coverage, the shipping itself costs more than the actual product cost itself.

 

So it seems Amazon's model is to own the planes, own the warehouses, cut all these bottom line costs, saturate market areas with warehouses, ship product in bulk to warehouses from manufacturers to cut costs, then sell with free shipping.

 

The other part is that Amazon still looks to take a big margin on their side, shipping through them isn't necessarily the cheapest, but how else can you get your product in the biggest nationwide store and target your biggest audience?

 

The interesting thing though is that now, at least in the pet food distribution business, retail warehouses are following the amazon model in terms of cost to the manufacturer / owner of the product, imbedding their ordering system direct into your website for order processing.  The only difference is none of these independents has the market coverage of Amazon and you have to pay a sh** ton of money to get that coverage through your own website, whether the retail warehouse has locations on the east coast or throughout the USA to cut down on your COGS.

 

And the real problem now and into the future with Amazon is that they have massive coverage in every market, they have every item you could ever want, and how are independents going to compete?  Then, Amazon can go and ask for even higher margins on the items they sell because they got it monopolized.

 

That said, luckily the grocery market is much more of a go and buy in the store model, and home delivery will probably only ever be a small percentage of sales (though important).  I wouldn't worry about Cincinnati losing Kroger and losing jobs because of a merger, they got the $ and talent to figure out ways to minimize the cut in sales with home delivery and curb pick ups.

The future value by definition is in things that are still developing.  And if Amazon is not putting downward pressure on prices, or at least no more than Wal-Mart is, then what exactly is edale referencing when he talks about other businesses cutting to the bare bone to compete with Amazon?  What's so special about Amazon, as opposed to Wal-Mart or even Kroger itself?

 

Retail is a zero-sum game. If they're not buying it from you they are buying it from someone else. Each competitor that enters the market makes the others do worse. When one is allowed to lose money for a very long time (the market would not tolerate 20-year losses from any B&M) that means everyone else loses too. So now we have all of these long-term profitable businesses that contributed a lot to society ailing or gone just so that Amazon can lose money. It happens in other industries too. Profit does indeed have positive outcomes for society as long as the companies don't act in a sociopathic manner. Amazon doesn't make people buy MORE stuff overall... that much is obvious by how little stuff is in people's houses compared to 20 years ago. Now people just hang out in taprooms and game all the time.

I think that some people automatically perceive that they're saving money buy buying crap online. 

what exactly is edale referencing when he talks about other businesses cutting to the bare bone to compete with Amazon?  What's so special about Amazon, as opposed to Wal-Mart or even Kroger itself?

 

When you look at retail, it's pretty clear that most large businesses are struggling, due in large part to Amazon. Macy's is basically in a death spiral and is closing stores left and right. Bookstores, other than little local one-offs essentially aren't a thing any more. Amazon is introducing new physical stores where people don't have to check out, which will of course make those stores more efficient and less expensive than those that have to, you know, employ people. If they're successful, look for all the other major retailers to follow suit so they can remain competitive. The Amazon impact is just starting to be felt, too, I think.

 

More significant than its effect on other businesses, though, is the effect Amazon is having on our cities. With retail being pushed further and further towards the digital space and away from physical stores, our urban retail districts are going to increasingly suffer. Many of the things that urbanists talk about as being fundamental for urban success- eyes on the street, pedestrian activation, etc- largely depend on retail. In my opinion, one retail company, that isn't developing a new product ala the car or something, should not be able to change so much of our economy and built environment in the way that Amazon is.

Like so much of "tech", Amazon provides a very mild convenience but is destroying so much culture.  Wal-Mart started the job of destroying small towns and now Amazon is going to kill off neighborhood business districts and what was left of downtown retail.  And for what?  Saving $300 a year?

 

This past year I bought one thing off of Amazon -- a tiny screwdriver and screws to repair a leather belt.  It was $6 to save the price of replacing the belt.  Before Amazon I would have gone to a tailor who would have told me he doesn't do that but would have told me who might.  Then I'd call them and drive the thing over to a part of town I don't usually visit.  The guy would have repaired the thing in 2 minutes and I'd be back in business.  Not a big deal. 

The future value by definition is in things that are still developing.  And if Amazon is not putting downward pressure on prices, or at least no more than Wal-Mart is, then what exactly is edale referencing when he talks about other businesses cutting to the bare bone to compete with Amazon?  What's so special about Amazon, as opposed to Wal-Mart or even Kroger itself?

 

Retail is a zero-sum game. If they're not buying it from you they are buying it from someone else. Each competitor that enters the market makes the others do worse. When one is allowed to lose money for a very long time (the market would not tolerate 20-year losses from any B&M) that means everyone else loses too. So now we have all of these long-term profitable businesses that contributed a lot to society ailing or gone just so that Amazon can lose money. It happens in other industries too. Profit does indeed have positive outcomes for society as long as the companies don't act in a sociopathic manner. Amazon doesn't make people buy MORE stuff overall... that much is obvious by how little stuff is in people's houses compared to 20 years ago. Now people just hang out in taprooms and game all the time.

 

It wouldn't actually surprise me if Amazon did actually make people buy more stuff overall, simply because they can find things there they otherwise couldn't, or would have to trust to eBay or some other online retailer that may just be hooking them up with an untrustworthy, unvetted merchant with minimal fraud protection (though eBay does offer that protection now as well, but Amazon really advanced that ball).

 

Also, no business that was actually posting 20-year losses would grow the way Amazon has.  It doesn't post much bottom-line revenue because it plows almost all cash flow from operations back into the business.  Its operations are a cash machine, however.  The shareholders are just very happy letting the company plow the profits back into expansion rather than taking dividends now.

 

what exactly is edale referencing when he talks about other businesses cutting to the bare bone to compete with Amazon?  What's so special about Amazon, as opposed to Wal-Mart or even Kroger itself?

 

When you look at retail, it's pretty clear that most large businesses are struggling, due in large part to Amazon. Macy's is basically in a death spiral and is closing stores left and right. Bookstores, other than little local one-offs essentially aren't a thing any more. Amazon is introducing new physical stores where people don't have to check out, which will of course make those stores more efficient and less expensive than those that have to, you know, employ people. If they're successful, look for all the other major retailers to follow suit so they can remain competitive. The Amazon impact is just starting to be felt, too, I think.

 

Are most large retail businesses struggling due to Amazon specifically, online retail generally, or the fact that we built three times the brick and mortar retail space of some other industrialized countries and a shakeout was inevitable at some point?  How much physical retail space does the US really need?  Is there some law of economics that says once it's built, it must not be allowed to shrink?

 

More significant than its effect on other businesses, though, is the effect Amazon is having on our cities. With retail being pushed further and further towards the digital space and away from physical stores, our urban retail districts are going to increasingly suffer. Many of the things that urbanists talk about as being fundamental for urban success- eyes on the street, pedestrian activation, etc- largely depend on retail. In my opinion, one retail company, that isn't developing a new product ala the car or something, should not be able to change so much of our economy and built environment in the way that Amazon is.

 

Largely depend on retail?  Maybe if we count bars and restaurants (or banks) as retail, yes, but we're not generally talking about Walgreens or Wal-Mart or Target or Barnes & Noble as key to urbanist visions.  The suburban big boxes are the ones much more threatened by Amazon than the kind of retail that you'll actually find dominating vibrant urban neighborhoods.  Toys'R'Us is in bankruptcy now, and that definitely probably has something to do with Amazon.  Circuit City fell earlier.  No one really misses them, including in subjective terms about the "experience" of shopping there.

 

Like so much of "tech", Amazon provides a very mild convenience but is destroying so much culture.  Wal-Mart started the job of destroying small towns and now Amazon is going to kill off neighborhood business districts and what was left of downtown retail.  And for what?  Saving $300 a year?

 

This past year I bought one thing off of Amazon -- a tiny screwdriver and screws to repair a leather belt.  It was $6 to save the price of replacing the belt.  Before Amazon I would have gone to a tailor who would have told me he doesn't do that but would have told me who might.  Then I'd call them and drive the thing over to a part of town I don't usually visit.  The guy would have repaired the thing in 2 minutes and I'd be back in business.  Not a big deal. 

 

I'd completely reverse that.  It provides extraordinary convenience and has minimal destructive impact on any edifice of culture worth preserving.  I'm guessing I've ordered $3000 worth of merchandise on it in the past year, not just to send gifts to relatives at Christmas in other cities but also for household staples of almost every kind.  Diapers (a big one that Amazon pushes).  Kleenex.  Batteries.  Shaving razor refills.  Hand soap.  That's in addition to bigger-ticket items like shoes and clothes.

 

It's not just about saving maybe $300 per year, though that's not nothing.  My wife and I both have full-time jobs, with two kids now and perhaps more in the works.  Having things delivered to our door saves serious time, which is our most precious resource.  Of course, we still need to take regular shopping trips as well (online retail is still only a small part of the retail world), but we still probably save at least one trip a month due to Amazon.  There is a reason they're growing at the rate they're growing, and it's nothing nefarious: They're just the best at what they do.

Street level small-scale retail is not going to go away. People move into and close to neighborhood business districts for that kind of experiential retail.

I'd completely reverse that.  It provides extraordinary convenience and has minimal destructive impact on any edifice of culture worth preserving.  I'm guessing I've ordered $3000 worth of merchandise on it in the past year, not just to send gifts to relatives at Christmas in other cities but also for household staples of almost every kind.  Diapers (a big one that Amazon pushes).  Kleenex.  Batteries.  Shaving razor refills.  Hand soap.  That's in addition to bigger-ticket items like shoes and clothes.

 

It's not just about saving maybe $300 per year, though that's not nothing.  My wife and I both have full-time jobs, with two kids now and perhaps more in the works.  Having things delivered to our door saves serious time, which is our most precious resource.  Of course, we still need to take regular shopping trips as well (online retail is still only a small part of the retail world), but we still probably save at least one trip a month due to Amazon.

 

 

You know what saves shopping trips?  Not buying stuff.  I hardly ever buy anything other than groceries. 

 

 

 

  There is a reason they're growing at the rate they're growing, and it's nothing nefarious: They're just the best at what they do.

 

 

They're under no pressure to make money.  Investors keep throwing money blindly at them, like Tesla.  An ordinary person can't start a business that won't make money for then next 20 years. 

 

 

 

 

 

Largely depend on retail?  Maybe if we count bars and restaurants (or banks) as retail, yes, but we're not generally talking about Walgreens or Wal-Mart or Target or Barnes & Noble as key to urbanist visions.  The suburban big boxes are the ones much more threatened by Amazon than the kind of retail that you'll actually find dominating vibrant urban neighborhoods.  Toys'R'Us is in bankruptcy now, and that definitely probably has something to do with Amazon.  Circuit City fell earlier.  No one really misses them, including in subjective terms about the "experience" of shopping there.

 

 

 

TRU got murdered by Wal-Mart. People with kids, unless they don't care for Wal-Mart, go there all the time. Multiple times per week. Kids force Wal-Mart. Target has lots of toys as well. The internet is terrible at selling children toys, but very good at selling adults old toys. Toys got rocked the most by screen-based entertainment.

You know what saves shopping trips?  Not buying stuff.  I hardly ever buy anything other than groceries.

 

Then you don't really have a dog in this, do you?  Though of course, Amazon has now started selling groceries, too.  But if you never buy anything anyway, you're not exactly going to be the best campaigner for the need for more independent local retail.

 

There is a reason they're growing at the rate they're growing, and it's nothing nefarious: They're just the best at what they do.

 

They're under no pressure to make money.  Investors keep throwing money blindly at them, like Tesla.  An ordinary person can't start a business that won't make money for then next 20 years.

 

What are you talking about?  They're under extraordinary pressure to make money and the fact that they are making money (and growing the rate at which they make money) is a primary reason for their share price.  You do know that the bottom line of the income statement is not the sole metric for a business' valuation, right?  Amazon's balance sheet is golden because they have no long term debt (and of course a massive amount of assets).  Comparing them to Tesla is not appropriate because Tesla has very significant debt obligations.  Amazon is for all intents and purposes debt-free.  Likewise, Amazon's cash flow statement is an absolute fountain of money (and, again, with none of that cash flow coming from debt).

It's because the market is very irrational towards companies people like. Nobody gave a crap when the Feds unceremoniously broke up IBM since nobody really gave a crap about IBM despite using the products all day every day.

As evidenced by the last few posts in this thread, there seem to be plenty of people who don't like Amazon.

Five years ago that wasn't true.

Another issue I have with online shopping is the extreme amount of energy and packaging waste that it brings. My neighbor gets packages delivered almost every other day, it seems like. Think about all the boxes, bubble wrap/packing peanuts, tape, etc. that gets used to send each of those little items. Also think about how that item was most likely flown here, then driven from a sorting facility to our apartment building. It takes an insane amount of energy and resources to send each of those packages he receives. It's something most people don't think about, but I can't get past the environmental impact and general selfishness involved with that type of shopping. For the record, I live within 3 blocks of a grocery store, and there are many shops within walking distance, and many more just a short 5 minute drive away.

Yes, and the amount of packaging that gets goods to those stores is nontrivial, but you just don't see it so it's easier to ignore.  With Amazon, merchandise most likely comes straight from a regional distribution center to your doorstep.  Therefore, an entire link of the chain is removed.  I seriously doubt the environmental costs from packaging for home delivery outweigh the costs that are avoided by skipping an entire leg of the journey to the end user.

Also, Amazon's huge data centers are horrendous energy hogs. Like really bad. I saw an analysis somewhere talking about how bad online shopping is for the environment as compared to B&M between the one item at a time nature and the data centers.

Yes, and the amount of packaging that gets goods to those stores is nontrivial, but you just don't see it so it's easier to ignore.  With Amazon, merchandise most likely comes straight from a regional distribution center to your doorstep.  Therefore, an entire link of the chain is removed.  I seriously doubt the environmental costs from packaging for home delivery outweigh the costs that are avoided by skipping an entire leg of the journey to the end user.

 

Those goods that get delivered to stores are delivered in bulk shipments. So they would get a box with maybe 400 packages of razor blades, while you get a box with maybe 2. Much less waste.

Also, Amazon's huge data centers are horrendous energy hogs. Like really bad. I saw an analysis somewhere talking about how bad online shopping is for the environment as compared to B&M between the one item at a time nature and the data centers.

 

Data centers use a huge amount of electricity, of course, but I am always puzzled why they get so much criticism from environmentalists. After all, the existence of the web is what allows us to do a million different real world things more efficiently, if not eliminate them altogether. For example, think of how many fewer catalogs need to be printed and distributed now that people can do online shopping. And the same thing for mail in general since we can just send email.

Also, Amazon's huge data centers are horrendous energy hogs. Like really bad. I saw an analysis somewhere talking about how bad online shopping is for the environment as compared to B&M between the one item at a time nature and the data centers.

 

Data centers use a huge amount of electricity, of course, but I am always puzzled why they get so much criticism from environmentalists. After all, the existence of the web is what allows us to do a million different real world things more efficiently, if not eliminate them altogether. For example, think of how many fewer catalogs need to be printed and distributed now that people can do online shopping. And the same thing for mail in general since we can just send email.

 

This.  Data centers don't use anywhere near as much energy (and even less of other resources) compared to the functions they've allowed to go digital.

It's also way easier to convert data centers to clean energy than it is to do the same with the industries they replaced.

Kroger is closing every store in the Raleigh-Durham market.

Kroger is closing every store in the Raleigh-Durham market.

 

Of the 14 stores in the region they are closing, 8 of them will become Harris Teeters. So they really are only closing six stores with the Kroger nameplate.

Although just conjecture at the moment, the new Kroger-Ocado alliance could shake up grocery shopping big time:  https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/game-changer-how-kroger-s-deal-with-ocado-could-reshape-the-industry

 

Also of note, on a local level:  https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/despite-new-competition-kroger-co-keeps-gaining-market-share

Looks like Kroger is adding 590 Jobs to the Atrium II Building. I wonder what types of jobs... i would have to think on the tech side?

 

ORDINANCE, (EMERGENCY) submitted by Patrick A. Duhaney, Acting City Manager on 6/25/2018, APPROVING and AUTHORIZING t he execution of a Job Creation Tax Credit Agreement with The Kroger Co., pursuant to which the company agrees to create 590 new jobs at the Atrium II Building, 221 East Fourth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 in Cincinnati's Central Business District neighborhood and for a period of 5 years, the City agrees to provide an income tax credit equal to 40% of City income tax revenue from such new jobs.

 

http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/council/public/documents/Record?rpp=10&upp=0&m=2&order=native%28%27doc_no%2FDescend%27%29

 

 

Kroger recently rebranded all of their IT operations as Kroger Technology and are treating it like a separate company with its own CEO, so I would not be surprised if they are doing some big expansion in that area.

Kroger attempts to improve its brand image by getting press saying it's going to do driverless deliveries, even though it's not going to work:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/27/kroger-to-soon-begin-driverless-grocery-delivery.html

 

Looks to me like Kroger is using this fake news as a recruiting tool.  They can tell a prospective employee that they're developing driverless delivery so they can pretend that they're working for a tech company.  Except widespread driverless delivery of groceries is a long, long way away. 

Why won’t it work?? ^

Why wont it work?? ^

 

Because there is no money in delivering groceries to begin with.  Unlike packages, you need to be at your house when the grocery delivery shows up.  Many people are on the move too much and can't budget a 2-hour window for one of these robots to show up. 

 

Grocery delivery has existed in New York City for many years but is a luxury service.  They need to be able to get in your apartment.  Otherwise, the stuff just sits out in the hall. 

Um...yeah it's not a luxury service here in NYC. I'm one of the only people I know who doesn't get some part of their grocery list delivered. It's more or less the same exact price since they've cut out the middle man of the grocery store so there's no reason to not use it. I'm in the minority of enjoying stopping at the store on my way home since it's right at the subway.

But is it robots or people?

It's people. But I'm sure if the tech is actually there for robots that it wouldn't be any different really. All the conveniences and inconveniences would still remain.

In NYC 90%of a grocery store's delivery orders are probably within a 5 block radius, so one guy can go out once an hour, do a loop, and deliver everything. In most of the rest of the country, the drive time between destinations will make delivery a less appealing venture.

 

The supermarket I used in Queens, Trade Fair, had free delivery. It was the 'leave your cart at the front of the store and we'll bring it around to you when we get to it' style, not the 'order online and have it shipped to you' style. . I was actually surprised how few people used it. Unless you were old or buying for a family of 8, it wasn't very popular. It's just not all that difficult to carry a few days worth of grocers for 5 minutes. It's more painful for most people to sit around for a few hours waiting for the grocery boy to show up. Plus, we all know how the first "Death Wish" movie starts.

Kroger to launch grocery delivery via driverless cars

 

 

Kroger Co. has a new partnership that could bring groceries to customers’ doors without a driver.

 

The Cincinnati-based grocer (NYSE: KR) is partnering with California-based tech company Nuro to pilot a fully autonomous delivery service.

 

Nuro created the first fully unmanned road vehicle. It will work with Kroger in the first application and deployment of its software in a test market that will be named in the coming weeks. The pilot program is expected to launch this fall.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/06/28/kroger-to-launch-grocery-delivery-via-driverless.html

 

In NYC 90%of a grocery store's delivery orders are probably within a 5 block radius, so one guy can go out once an hour, do a loop, and deliver everything. In most of the rest of the country, the drive time between destinations will make delivery a less appealing venture.

 

The advantage Kroger has in Cincinnati is that it has almost 100% coverage and a near 100% monopoly throughout the region.  If this same city only had 3-4 Kroger location there is no way that they could hope to do citywide coverage. 

 

Plus, the existing stores were not built with this service in mind.  Ideally they would have this stuff picked in warehouses, where a single order is assembled at the shipping point by several pickers working in zones.  Instead they're going to be picking from the grocery store shelves, under pressure to move quickly in the customer environment.  Then each order has to be clumsily loaded somewhere outside the store since it's not a warehouse.  Then it gets to your house an hour later because earlier people didn't have their phones turned on and so it went to their house but they weren't able to promptly deliver the food. 

 

It's not going to work.  It's not going to work.  It's not going to work. 

Plus, the existing stores were not built with this service in mind.  Ideally they would have this stuff picked in warehouses, where a single order is assembled at the shipping point by several pickers working in zones.  Instead they're going to be picking from the grocery store shelves, under pressure to move quickly in the customer environment.  Then each order has to be clumsily loaded somewhere outside the store since it's not a warehouse.  Then it gets to your house an hour later because earlier people didn't have their phones turned on and so it went to their house but they weren't able to promptly deliver the food. 

 

It's not going to work.  It's not going to work.  It's not going to work.

 

A month ago Kroger purchased a 5% stake in the UK supermarket chain Ocado. This is their automated packing technology: